I was looking at the BRIO homes for sale, and noticed a few things the agents could do to improve the photos in the mls.  The 3 bedrrom Brookwood Place Townhome in Bothell was one that caught my attention. With properties sitting on market longer than usual since the middle of July, presentation of photos and condition of property has become ten times more important now than over the past 2-3 years.

One of the advantages of having a Broker who also sells real estate, is the Broker can help you stage your properties and give you a few pointers so you can stage your own properties, rather than just taking photos in "as is" condition in the future. 

Training is more than showing you which forms to use when it sells.   Training should be about how to get it sold.

Jeremy Keener picked me up at 9 a.m. and we had the whole townhome done well before noon.  We brought nothing with us except for a camera.

There are more before and after photos over at RCG for those who like to see the way rooms change with just a little shoving around of furniture.  But my point here is that there are some advantages to having a broker who also sells real estate. 

Everybody talks about Training and Raising the Bar.  But there are very few classes offered that help you to sell real estate.  Field trips with the Broker going out to houses, and workshops with role playing will do more to train agents about what they really need to know.  How to get homes sold and how to interact with buyers and sellers on a daily basis.

This lesson is about not being afraid to touch the owners things.  Don't just snap that photo and load it up into the mls.  Take the couple of hours to move everything around a bit before the photos are taken. 

There were a few awkward moments when I was crawling around the floor.  I guess the Broker crawling around the floor of your listing is not an everyday event in this business :)  But as you can see from the photos, I think it was well worth it to suffer a little embarrassment for the benefit of my agents.

So if you have a Broker who also sells real estate, instead of viewing the Broker as a competitor, maybe you should focus on some of the real advantages.  You won't get any Continuing Ed Clock Hours for spending time in your listings with your Broker, but you may just get a few more homes sold for your clients in this slowing market.